Road Trip – NYC

Had to head up to New York City this week for a work conference and my coworkers and I were fortunate enough to be able to enjoy a few meals in the city. Apologies in advance for some of the the grainy photos, but NYC restaurants are very low light and flashes seemed inappropriate.

We started off with Eataly, Mario Batali’s Gourmet Italian Market, Wine Shop and Eatery.

Though the place was packed with Italian meats, cheeses, breads and pastries, I’m a big fan of gelato so I had to try it. Gave the Carmello al Sale a whirl and it was definitely a good choice.

Some of my coworkers and I are huge How I Met Your Mother fans so we had dinner at McGee’s, the inspiration for McLaren’s Pub on the show.

They sure as hell own it.

Right down to the HIMYM themed specials menu which, let’s be honest, is rather generic.

I stuck with the Buffalo Chicken Sliders, which were good but could have used a little more heat.

The following night our management took us to dinner at Sinigual, which boasts gourmet Mexican food. I tried the Mexican Duck Confit and was pleasantly surprised. A gigantic fire roasted pepper stuffed with pulled duck, Oaxaca cheese and dried cranberries with a thick chipotle sauce, this was an interesting and flavorful dish. Duck is not something I would associate with Mexican food but it worked well.

And of course leave it to me to find one of the biggest tap houses in the city. The Ginger Man was right around the corner from my house and boasted a 75 beer tapwall. Had a very British vibe to it; if I didn’t already know I was in NYC I would have sworn I was in the UK. The biggest benefit was that I was able to try some seasonal Pumpkin beers that are not available to me in Tampa.

Elysian Brewing’s The Great Pumpkin Ale.

Flying Dog’s The Fear.

I would have loved to have more time to explore but I did what I could in the little time that I had so I’d consider that a win.